We knew we needed to test our theory, and to do that, we needed more data. We decided to do more fieldwork, this time together, and started with a trip to Albany, in the Hudson Valley of New York, and Akron, Ohio. What we witnessed there filled us with excitement. We saw groups working in collaboration, new technologies and manufacturing methods being employed, and smart, value-added products being created. Cities and whole regions were being revitalized by the activities.
That trip turned into a two-year journey through the United States and Europe in which we visited ten locations. In Europe we went to Dresden, Germany; Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Lund-Malmö, Sweden; Oulu, Finland; and Zurich, Switzerland. With the help of Bruce Katz and his Brookings colleagues, we put five regions in the United States on our itinerary: in addition to Akron and Albany, we traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. We also conducted interviews with leaders in many other areas, participated in numerous conversations with people in various disciplines and positions around the world, and did our due research diligence—reading, reviewing material, and digging into the relevant data.
We realized there are many other examples of new, university-centered brain hubs, some of them former “rustbelts,” whereas others were not anchored in an industrial past. Some are already well known, some others only just emerging. In the United States, Austin, Texas (information technology [IT] and biotechnology), was the most promising example of a new brainbelt that does not have an industrial history. Its high-tech area, Silicon Hills, started in the 1990s around the University of Texas, and companies such as IBM, Dell, and Oracle and now has at least fifteen incubators.2 Other examples of brainbelts are Houston (energy) in Texas; Palm Bay (aerospace) and Gainesville (life science) in Florida; and Boulder (aerospace and life science) in Colorado. In Europe, we also see the phenomenon in Cambridge, United Kingdom; Stockholm and Göteborg, Sweden; Berlin and the Munich-Stuttgart region in Germany; Paris, Grenoble, and Toulouse in France; and Graz in Austria. Outside the United States and Europe are Seoul in South Korea; Singapore; Hsinchu in Taiwan; and Tel Aviv in Israel.
The discovery and creation process was an amazing experience for us, an economist and a journalist traveling the world, trying to understand what was going on, gradually accumulating evidence and steadily sharpening our thesis. We visited universities and community colleges, big corporations and tiny start-ups, laboratories and production facilities. We talked with senior executives in suits and start-up founders in jeans, researchers in cleanrooms and tinkerers in lofts, administrators of science parks and government officials in statehouse offices. They all told us about a process of innovation and the creation of products that involved collegial collaboration, open exchange of information, partnerships between the worlds of business and academia, multidisciplinary initiatives, and ecosystems composed of an array of important players, all working closely together. The much-storied model of innovation—featuring the solo genius or the brilliant pair of geeks in a garage—was no longer relevant in an era when new product development is expensive, multidisciplinary, and complex. And the brainbelt approach went far beyond the joint ventures and occasional project-based engagements we had seen before. We began to refer to it as the “sharing of brainpower.”
BRAINBELTS
United States
Well-known
State: California
Region: West
Name/Place: Silicon Valley
Focus: IT, bioscience, electric car, next-gen bendable and wearable electronic devices
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Stanford, University of California, Caltech
State: Massachusetts
Region: East
Name/Place: Cambridge (and Route 128)
Focus: Bioscience, robotics
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: MIT, Harvard
State: Texas
Region: South
Name/Place: Austin (Silicon Hills)
Focus: Computers, new materials, bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Texas
Focus of this book
State: North Carolina
Region: Southeast
Name/Place: Durham- Raleigh-Chapel Hill (Research Triangle Park)
Focus: Bioscience, new materials, energy (LED)
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Duke, UNC, NC State
State: New York
Region: East
Name/Place: Albany (Hudson Tech Valley)
Focus: Semiconductors
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: SUNY, RPI
State: Ohio
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Akron
Focus: New materials, polymers
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Akron, Kent State
State: Minnesota
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Minneapolis- St. Paul
Focus: Medical devices/ bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Minnesota
State: Oregon
Region: West
Name/Place: Portland (Silicon Forest)
Focus: Bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: OHSU
Others
State: Pennsylvania
Region: East
Name/Place: Pittsburgh
Focus: Robotics, IT
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Carnegie Mellon
State: New York
Region: East
Name/Place: Rochester
Focus: Photonics (link with Albany)
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Rochester, SUNY
State: New York
Region: East
Name/Place: Buffalo (Buffalo Billion, Riverbend)
Focus: Battery technology, clean energy
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Buffalo, SUNY
State: New York
Region: East
Focus: New York (Silicon Alley)/New Jersey
Focus: IT, digital media, telecom, biotech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Cornell
State: Ohio
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Columbus
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Ohio State University, Battelle Memorial Institute
State: Ohio
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Dayton
Focus: Aerospace, RFI, new materials, sensors
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Dayton, National Air & Space Intelligence Center, Kettering
State: Michigan
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Ann Arbor
Focus: Bioscience, electronics, engineering
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Michigan
State: Michigan
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Detroit- Oakland County (Automation Alley)
Focus: Automation, automotives
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Wayne State University
State: Illinois
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Chicago (Golden Corridor)
Focus: Materials, IT, engineering, biotech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Northern Illinois University
State: Kansas
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Wichita
Focus: Aerospace, heavy machinery
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Wichita State University
State: Missouri
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: St. Louis (Cortex, Missouri Research Park)
Focus: Bioscience, ag-tech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Washington University, University of Missouri
State: Minnesota
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Rochester
Focus: Life science
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota
State: Indiana
Region: Midwest
Name/Place: Indianapolis
Focus: Biotech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Indiana Biosciences Research Institute
State: Washington
Region: West
Name/Place: Seattle
Focus: Aerospace, automotives, IT, retail, biotech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Washington
State: Idaho
Region: West
Name/Place: Boise (Boise Valley)
Focus: IT, engineering
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Idaho, Idaho State University
No rustbelt background
State: Utah
Region: West
Name/Place: Salt Lake City- Ogden-Provo (Silicon Slopes)
Focus: IT, life science, automotives
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Utah, Brigham Young University
State: Colorado
Region: West
Name/Place: Boulder-Denver (Denver Tech Center)
Focus: Aerospace, life sciences, energy
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Colorado, NREL’s National Wind Technology Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
State: Arizona
Region: West
Name/Place: Tucson (Optics Valley)
Focus: IT, optics, aerospace, bio-science
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Arizona
State: California
Region: West
Name/Place: San Diego and Tech Coast
Focus: Defense, biotechnology, nanotechnology, wireless
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of California
State: California
Region: West
Name/Place: Los Angeles metro
Focus: Bioscience, aeronautics, entertainment, defense
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: UCLA
State: Texas
Region: South
Name/Place: Houston
Focus: Energy, bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Rice, University of Houston, Texas Southern, Texas Medical Center
State: South Carolina
Region: South
Name/Place: Greenville
Focus: Automotives
State: Florida
Region: South
Name/Place: Palm Bay
Focus: Avionics
State: Alabama
Region: South
Name/Place: Huntsville (Cummings Research Park)
Focus: Aerospace
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Alabama, Huntsville Hospital system, NASA Space Flight Center
State: Mississippi
Region: South
Name/Place: Batesville
Focus: Aerospace
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Mississippi State University
State: Tennessee
Region: South
Name/Place: Knoxville
Focus: Composite materials and process technology
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee
State: DC region
Region: East
Name/Place: Washington (Dulles Technology Corridor)
Focus: Defense, homeland security, biotech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, George Washington University
Canada and Mexico
Country: Canada
Name/Place: Waterloo- Kitchener
Focus: Wireless, bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier
Country: Canada
Name/Place: Ontario
Focus: Aerospace
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Toronto, Ryerson University, York University, Centennial College
Country: Mexico
Name/Place: Monterrey
Focus: Biotechnology, mechatronics, nanotechnology
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Monterrey Institute of Technology
Northern Europe
In book
Country: Netherlands
Name/Place: Eindhoven (High Tech Campus)
Focus: Semiconductors, new materials
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Technical University
Country: Sweden
Name/Place: Lund-Malmö (Ideon)
Focus: Life science, new materials
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Lund University
Country: Finland
Name/Place: Oulu (Technopolis)
Focus: Medical instruments, wireless
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Oulu University
Country: Germany
Name/Place: Dresden (Silicon Saxony)
Focus: Semiconductors
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Max Planck
Country: Switzerland
Name/Place: Zurich
Focus: Life science
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Technical University
Others
Country: United Kingdom
Name/Place: Cambridge (Silicon Fen)
Focus: Bioscience, engineering
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Cambridge University
Country: United Kingdom
Name/Place: Oxford (Science Park)
Focus: Bioscience, IT, clean tech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Oxford University
Country: Germany
Name/Place: Munich- Karlsruhe- Stuttgart- Heidelberg (Isar Valley)
Focus: Automotives, robotics, bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Fraunhofer, Stuttgart University, Heidelberg University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Country: Germany
Name/Place: Berlin (Silicon Allee)
Focus: IT
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: TU Berlin (Technical University), Humboldt University, Free University
Country: Germany
Name/Place: Aachen (E.ON Research Center)
Focus: Clean energy
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Technical University of Aachen
Country: Germany
Name/Place: Kaiserslautern (Silicon Woods)
Focus: IT
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Kaiserslautern
Country: Netherlands
Name/Place: Delft (Technopolis Innovation Park)
Focus: Cleantech, 3D printing, IT
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Delft University
Country: Netherlands
Name/Place: Enschede (Kennispark Twente)
Focus: New materials
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Twente, Saxion
Country: Netherlands
Name/Place: Wageningen
Focus: Agri-bio
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Wageningen University
Country: Netherlands
Name/Place: Heerlen (Avantis European Science and Biomedicine Park)
Focus: New materials
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Country: Netherlands
Focus: Leiden (Bio Science Park)
Focus: Bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Leiden
Co
untry: Sweden
Name/Place: Stockholm (Kista)
Focus: IT, robotics
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Stockholm University
Country: Denmark
Name/Place: Copenhagen (Science City)
Focus: Bioscience, clean tech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Copenhagen, Metropolitan University College
Country: France
Name/Place: Grenoble (Giant Campus)
Focus: Nanotech, bioscience, clean tech
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Grenoble Institute of Technology, Inria
Country: France
Name/Place: Toulouse (Aerospace Valley)
Focus: Aerospace, agri-bio
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: University of Toulouse, University of Bordeaux
Country: Israel
Name/Place: Tel Aviv (Silicon Wadi, Kiryat Atidim Hi-tech Zone)
Focus: IT, bioscience, plant bioscience
Universities, Research Institutes, Hospitals: Tel Aviv University
With each visit, it became clearer that we were indeed witnessing a whole new phenomenon in which the sharing of brainpower was taking place in very unlikely places that were becoming hotspots of innovation. Most of these were cities and regions that had been ravaged by the outsourcing of the 1980s and 1990s and had formulated a new approach and kindled a new ambition. By sharing brainpower, they were achieving exactly what their Asian and MIST competitors were worried about: creating smart, complex products that delivered value far greater than products that could be created using the outdated, low-cost model.
But there was more to it than sharing brainpower through collaborative partnerships. There was the actual making of things. What we were seeing in such places as Batesville and Eindhoven was not, however, what journalists sometimes like to call a “return” to traditional manufacturing, but its reinvention. For some time, R&D had taken a backseat in the corporate enterprise, with disastrous consequences. But R&D got a new lease on life and got even smarter than before, when companies integrated it with manufacturing. Then, when low-cost sensors became available, it was possible to reintegrate all of the elements—information technology, data analytics, wireless communications, new production methods, new materials, and new discoveries. This created a new branch of the economy, which soon flourished. Companies in these brainbelts had no intention of firing up the old equipment and hiring back laid-off workers to run the assembly lines. No way. These facilities were radically different, like the GE plant in Batesville: smart, clean, flexible, and operated by processes that integrated electronics and mechanics. The people engaged in the facilities worked in teams of specialists and professionals, some with advanced-skills training, some with PhDs, and, yes, some retrained former line workers. And the products that emerged were innovative, connected, customized, and of high quality—as complex as a jet engine or as seemingly simple as an athletic shoe. This was by no means your father’s manufacturing—things fashioned by the repetitive interplay of hand and machine—but rather smart manufacturing: very clever things created by the creative interaction of skilled workers and professionals with smart technologies.